I just can't beleive that in this day and age car dealerships STILL try some shady bullshit tactics.

We need to start looking at replacing our 17 year old Lexus. Went to look at specific car last week. Dealer basically gave us a lease offer of $300/mos plus tax with $4k down ($1k off and $13.5k in incentives). Drive came to some absurd total of $6200...which didn't seem right. We said thanks and left, didn't try and negotiate.

Went looking around...same deal everything. Standard manufacturer deal. Then, same dealer listed a better deal. $149/mos plus tax with $2500 down....We go back again to deal off this number. suddenly drive off fees are now $7200 in total drive off....WHAT?!?! I quickly point out something is very much not right with those numbers. They try and say deal didn't include the freight/delivery...OK sure let's say that's true. There is still no one these numbers up. Looking at the sheet they brought out....its was still listed as only $1k off the msrp. I tell them they are trying to make up the difference of the advertised discount by charging us in the drive off. They claim its listed in the fine print of the ad...It's not, I show them. They try and blame the GM and say he's an old school guy.

They finally say they'll give us the advertised deal...and the numbers finally check out, but it was too late by then. I walked.

But it boggles my mind that when I have a fucking lease calculator right on my phone and check the numbers in real time...that these idiots think they can still fuck people over.

What's more sad is Im sure there are tons of people who don't do their due diligence and double check things.

Ridiculous.

 

Whoops, please move this to Car Talk.

 

Moved

 

I always tell people, if you don't like the deal walk. You'll be amazed at how fast those numbers come down when the dealers think they're losing a sale.

 

You are likely to get a wider spread in $$$ when you are talking lease as opposed to buy. As an example, you and I can go to numerous Acura dealers and price to buy the same vehicle, and the spread will be low between our offers as long as we make sure we are comparing apples to apples. But as soon as we talk lease, we introduce a 3rd party who is after their piece of the pie. The 3rd party is also likely to have numerous options tailored to make the prospective lessor think it is a good deal.

 

Oh I have no issue walking. I was just so incredulous at what they were trying to pull and the attempts to lie and justify, that I just wanted them to admit it. Which they finally did.

 

If you have all the numbers and know what you're looking at it's easy to see the bullshit. Especially now with access to all the calculators, etc.

 

Don't let dealers pull a fast one onon you with bad offers. Always stay alert and check all the numbers. If something doesn 't add up, just walk away Sometimes,. that's the best strategy to get them to come back with a better deal
!

 

They do it because they can get away with it. For every customer like you that checks all the details and math, there are 20 that just sign on the line. It's shady AF and something that needs to be regulated more but, alas, the dealer lobby is pretty strong.

All the more reason why we need to get more automakers to a direct sales model. I've never had better buying experiences than both Tesla and Rivian. So pain free and simple.

 

I agree. The 2 easiest purchases I ever made were my Tesla. And My Durango when I made the deal on the phone in 20 minutes, and they sent it to me on a flatbed with the paperwork to sign and send back.